6 Ways to renew your relationship with sleep

Improving your sleep is a great way to improve your lifestyle and become a lot healthier. Like any habit, changing your sleep patterns can take sometime. Here are a few tips that can help you get a good night’s sleep.

Turn down the lights – If your bedroom gets a lot of light, specially from outside, it is best to reduce incoming light by creating a dark atmosphere. If changing your curtains to black out blinds is too costly, buy a sleep mask and consider using ear plugs.

Exercise – A study showed that 30 minutes of daily exercise, can give you 45 minutes of extra sleep. Try your best to be consistent and avoid exercise 3 hours before bedtime.

Avoid spicy foods – Foods with lots of spice, can cause indigestion and heartburn, which can disrupt sleep. Spicy foods at night, can also cause body temperatures to rise, which can also cause poor sleep.

Avoid fatty foods during the day – High fat foods during the day, puts and extra strain on your digestive tract, which can cause people to feel sleepy during the day. This can make for long afternoon naps that will interfere with night sleep.

Grab a catnap – Indulging in a short 15-20 minute catnap midday. Short naps have been shown to help revive the brain and assist restful sleep at night.

Meditation – Daily meditation helps to clear the mind and help you reach sleep faster. Schedule a 10 minute morning meditation session daily, by using apps such as Headspace.